"First find the lion, then I'll give you a blanket."

No one's ever said that to me before.
But last week in Kapama Game Reserve on the western fringe of Krueger Park in South Africa our guide, John, came out with that statement and I said, "Okay." As the Southern Hemisphere heads into winter, temperatures in the bush plummet when the sun goes down. Pleasant during the day, cold at night. We'd been exploring the brush and washed-out ravines since late afternoon in our Toyota Land Cruiser, challenging its four-wheel drive to the limit.

John was on the radio with another guide a mile or so away and learned they'd spotted a pair of lions sleeping in the tall grass. Nearby they'd also found a fresh wildebeest carcass and both lions had bellies rounded by their big meal. These lions are wild, but life on the Game Reserve has accustomed them to people. People in Land Cruisers, John told us, the lions don't consider worth their notice. People on foot are dinner.

Of course, we wanted to find them. That's when John looked at us, now shivering in our lightweight shirts, and said, "First, we find the lion, then I'll give you a blanket."

We took off down dirt roads without markers, then veered off into untrodden bush, bouncing over small acacias as we went. There they were. Mr. and Mrs. Lion, lying in the tall grass a few feet apart, and so oblivious of us they hardly blinked when our spotter shined a spotlight right in their eyes.
What a life!